Group spotlight – Jog Swanwick

Jog Swanwick is a Jog Derbyshire group based in Swanwick, Derbyshire. Leader of Jog Derbyshire group, Andrew Skelding tells us all about it.

How many leaders do you have? 1

How many co-leaders do you have? 0

Roughly how many participants regularly run with you? 25 regularly thought the week , normally 10 at each session

When and where do you meet? Mondays at 10am and 6.15pm from Crays Hill Park. Thursday at 6.15pm from Crays Hill Park. I also do 1-1 sessions which go from individual houses.

Tell us about the history of the group. How long has it been going and how did it start?

As a experienced runner I wanted to add something to the community so I started it in September 2019. It’s coming up to three years live now.

I get a buzz giving something back to the community. I’ve run for 30 odd years and I got to a stage where I didn’t think that I could get any quicker. I got to 60 and I thought is there something else I can give and my wife advised me why don’t you start a group.

Tell us a bit about the group – its atmosphere, anything which makes it special etc.

We have three different groups. Monday am mainly has young mums and retired people, with lots of interaction and support with faster runners buddying up. Monday pm is intervals where different abilities are given different programmes to improve themselves. Thursday pm is half intervals and finish with a small run

One-to-one sessions are given to those who want to improve. This can be from 5k up to 10 miles.

Everyone encourages each other, everyone is given the same time and no one is isolated from the group.

I walk home with a smile on my face most nights. I make sure everybody gets home safe as well. I adapt the session to whoever turns up. If one turns up that’s great and if no one turns up which I’ve never had, I’ll just go for a run.

What’s your best memory of Jog Swanwick?

I have several to be fair. I coached two people to complete the Derby 10 miler in 2021, helped one lady to a 10 minute pb 10k in February this year and 10 people achieved the Derby 10k this year.

Are there any extra-special members of the group who deserve a shout out?

Roy Smith who is a great runner always buddies up with a different runner every week.

What’s the best thing about being part of Jog Derbyshire?

Being able to add something to the local community.

Are there any opportunities for other groups to join you? E.g. on regular runs or at special events.

Join us on a Thursday evening were we do a session then warm down with a small run.

You can find out more about Jog Swanwick by visiting their Facebook page here.